KABUL (SW) – Russia is working actively to “normalize” the situation in Afghanistan, President Vladimir Putin said during a visit to neighboring Tajikistan, evoking Moscow’s responsibilities in the area.
“We are doing everything to normalize the situation [in Afghanistan] and we are trying to build relations with the political forces that control the situation,” Putin said during talks with Tajikistan’s President Emomali Rakhmon.
But their starting point was that Afghanistan’s ethnic groups should take a full part in running the country, he added, in comments broadcast by Russian media.
“Here, you know best […] what needs to be done to ensure that the situation in the region, in this zone where we have a common responsibility, is stable and threatens no one,” he told Rakhmon.
This is Putin’s first trip abroad since the start of Russia’s military operation in Ukraine on February 24, reported Moscow Times.
Russia has a major military base in Tajikistan, one of its allies in the region.
Tajikistan has a 1,200-kilometer-long border with Afghanistan and Tajik forces regularly clash with Afghan drug smugglers.
The return to power of the Taliban in Afghanistan last August has led some observers to fear that Tajikistan, the poorest of the former Soviet states, could be destabilized.
The country remains economically very dependent on Russia
Meanwhile, a number of political analysts say that Putin made the remarks in order to achieve Russia’s specific goals against the US. According to experts, Russia is trying to create a new front against the United States and achieve political and economic goals.
Wais Naseri, an expert on political issues, dubbed Putin’s remarks about establishing relations with the head of the Islamic Emirate as a political game. “He wants to open a new front in a coalition with the Islamic Emirate against the United States and its allies,” he said.
Mehdi Afzali, another political analyst, believes that due to the lack of political stability in Afghanistan, Russia can not accept the country as a strategic ally, but is trying to use Afghanistan’s geography to achieve economic goals.
We wanted to have the view of the Islamic Emirate in connection with the statements of the President of Russia, but our calls were not answered.
ENDS
